There was an ESPN report about Leonard calling Durant, who eventually decided to join Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn. There are strong signs there was a possibility of joining up with Jimmy Butler as well, before he chose the Heat, with a source telling The Athletic that Leonard reached out to Butler heading into free agency and that Robertson had started the dialogue between their two camps in the immediate aftermath of Leonard’s magical four-bounce series-winner against Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference Finals. But it was quite another thing to put together that kind of plot with a player like George, who still had two seasons left on his contract. And once it was done, with George jumping at the chance to have a homecoming of his own with the Clippers, who, at 20-8, look worthy of title contention, there’s a lesson to be learned for the cream of the NBA’s crop.